The Pennsylvania-based company will make flooring and surfacing products from used truck tires.

Ecore International, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based rubber recycling company, has announced plans to invest $25.5 million to open a manufacturing and recycling facility in Ozark, Alabama, where it will produce flooring and surfacing products from reclaimed rubber from used truck tires.

As part of the project, Ecore says it is purchasing an existing building in Ozark and will add 84 new full-time jobs in the city.

“Since its inception, Ecore has transformed over 2 billion pounds of rubber waste into surfaces that make people’s lives better,” CEO Art Dodge says. “All Ecore manufacturing facilities are certified zero waste, amplifying the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship.”

Ecore’s Lancaster and York, Pennsylvania, manufacturing facilities were certified in November last year from Underwriters Laboratories after completing 2020 Zero Waste to Landfill audits. The audit credited a landfill diversion rate of 99 percent in Lancaster and 100 percent in York, with both sites achieving 22 percent waste diversion tied to energy recovery.

The company says it is the largest converter of reclaimed rubber in North America, with its largest raw material being scrap truck tires. In 2021, it recycled more than 100 million pounds of truck tires into products for markets like nursing homes, fitness centers, recreation centers and schools.

“Ecore is a champion of sustainability, with a primary goal of creating products that improve lives and the environment,” Alabama Department of Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield says. “Its new tire recycling and manufacturing facility in Dale County will help this impressive company extend its mission while also providing good-paying jobs for citizens.”

Ohio could be the site of Honda battery plant while North Carolina lands Toyota project.

Two Japan-based automakers have announced separate United States electric vehicle (EV) battery production investments with a combined total of more than $8 billion in anticipated spending.

Toyota Motor Corp. has announced an additional investment of $2.5 billion at its under construction Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMNC) facility in Liberty, North Carolina. The automaker says the investment “adds capacity to support battery EV (BEV) production” at the plant, which is scheduled to start operating in 2025.

“This marks another significant milestone for our company,” says Norm Bafunno, senior vice president at Toyota Motor North America. “This plant will serve a central role in Toyota’s leadership toward a fully electrified future and will help us meet our goal of carbon neutrality in our vehicles and global operations by 2035.”

Last year, Toyota, in partnership with Toyota Tsusho, announced the new Liberty location with an initial investment of $1.29 billion for battery production. The latest announcement brings TBMNC’s total investment to $3.8 billion. It is part of Toyota’s global plant to invest approximately $70 billion for electrification efforts.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd., meanwhile, has announced jointly with South Korea-based LG Energy Solution (LGES) an agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) company to produce lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. “to power Honda and Acura EV models for the North American market.”

LGES and Honda say they will invest a total of $4.4 billion and establish a new JV plant in the U.S. with an intended annual production capacity of approximately 40 Gigawatt hours (GWh). The firms say, “The pouch-type batteries produced at the new JV plant will be supplied exclusively to Honda facilities in North America.”

The location for the JV plant has not been finalized, although media reports indicate officials in Ohio, where Honda has a considerable manufacturing base, have been in negotiation with Honda and LG.

In late August, Reuters quoted Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine as saying his administration has been working with Honda and LG “to ensure that they choose Ohio for this new electric battery plant.”

The JV partners say that, based on Honda’s plans for EV production in North America, the two companies aim to begin construction in early 2023 in order to “enable the start of mass production of advanced lithium-ion battery cells by the end of 2025.”

“Aligned with our longstanding commitment to build products close to the customer, Honda is committed to the local procurement of EV batteries which is a critical component of EVs. This initiative in the U.S. with LGES, the leading global battery manufacturer, will be part of such a Honda approach,” says Toshihiro Mibe, president and CEO of Honda Motor Co.

“Our joint venture with Honda, which has significant brand reputation, is yet another milestone in our mid- to long-term strategy of promoting electrification in the fast-growing North American market,” says Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution.

The Carolinas and the Great Lakes regions are among the parts of the U.S. competing for EV and EV component production. The geographic decisions made will likely have an impact regarding metals and battery materials recycling opportunities in the respective regions.

The Glass Recycling Foundation has awarded about $70,000 in grants to support equipment, education and pilot project activities that improve glass recycling.

The Glass Recycling Foundation (GRF), a nonproft based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has awarded about $70,000 in grants to support equipment, education and pilot project activities that improve glass recycling.   

GRF says the grants will go toward glass recycling in select cities and counties in North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. The following programs have received or will receive support in 2022:  

Repeat Glass, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, will receive funding to support the purchase of roll-off containers to collect glass packaging through a drop-off recycling program that serves residential homes and commercial businesses with an anticipated 15 additional tons of glass recycled annually.  

Stillwater, Oklahoma, will receive grant funding to purchase curbside recycling bins that will allow 400 households the ability to recycle source-separated glass containers, with an anticipated 16 additional tons of glass recycled annually.  

Prism Glass Recycling, Erie County, Pennsylvania, which has received additional funding from O-I Glass, will expand Erie County’s 2021 residential recycling grant and will provide glass recycling services to 20 bars and restaurants. The effort anticipates an additional 250 to 350 tons of glass recycled annually.  

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has partnered with GRF to provide grants to communities in the state, where glass collection has fallen by 30 percent in the past four years. Communities receiving funding are Pinehurst to support the installation of a new drop-off glass collection facility including a 20-yard roll-off container to collect glass with a target of recovering 215 tons per year; Moore County to support the construction of a glass bunker, foam tire replacement for a wheel loader, roll-off containers and signage with the goal of potentially increasing glass recovery by 10 percent; and Pitt County to support the construction of a bunker at the transfer station to collect glass containers brought in on roll-off containers from convenience sites throughout the county allowing the county to haul up to 20 tons of glass per trip instead of up to 4 tons per trip when transporting materials to the end market.  

“Many communities struggle with strong glass recycling due to lack of investment or budget,” says Scott DeFife, president of GRF. “Through donations from stakeholders in the glass recycling value chain, we can make an impact that increases glass recycling access and cullet available for recycled glass applications.”  

To be considered for a GRF grant, eligible entities, including nonprofits, municipalities and manufacturers, must submit an application that includes a complete project budget, proposal, work plan and other specified information. Projects allowed under the grant program can either be demonstration/pilot projects that address specific gaps in the glass recycling supply chain or education projects that educate the public about the benefits of recycling glass.  

The GRF awards grants on a biannual schedule. The application period is currently open, with a deadline to apply online by Oct. 7.  

Funding for 2022 GRF grants is provided by generous donations from Anheuser-Busch Foundation, Ardagh Glass, Corona Extra/Constellation Brands, Crescent Crown Distributing, Diageo, Glass Packaging Institute, Knauf Insulation, O-I Charities Foundation, Strategic Materials Inc. and Urban Mining Industries.   

Attendees will hear from two keynote speakers, choose between four breakout sessions, and participate in a vendor show, award luncheon and networking opportunities.

The Nebraska Recycling Council (NRC), Lincoln, Nebraska, is hosting its annual fall conference and award luncheon in-person on Thursday, Sept. 15th at the Graduate in Lincoln, Nebraska. 

According to a news release from the NRC, attendees will hear from two keynote speakers and choose between four breakout sessions. They will also participate in a vendor show, award luncheon and networking opportunities. The conference hits on relevant topics in resource recovery for municipalities, businesses and for rural and urban recycling programs. Featured sessions include best practices on supporting recycling programs in changing recycling markets, targeting materials not traditionally recycled, an update on composting in Nebraska and a focus on local companies sharing their perspective on environmentally conscious business models.  

The keynote speakers are Bob Gedert, president of the National Recycling Coalition and Steve Alexander, president of Resource Recycling and the Association of Plastic Recyclers. 

“We are thrilled to host our conference in-person, gathering recycling industry professionals from across our state to talk about current issues,” says Haley Nolde, NRC executive director. “We would also like to extend our gratitude to all of our conference sponsors and vendors for their support.”  

To learn more about the NRC fall conference, click here. 

Metals information service also says its pricing benchmarks are gaining favor over the LME in China.

In an Aug. 31 webinar, a Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) managing director predicted a likely ceiling on nickel prices in China for the rest of the year. Fancy Li of SMM also remarked that those seeking benchmark nickel pricing in that nation are increasingly turning to SMM and away from the London Metal Exchange (LME).

“The pricing method of imported nickel raw materials in China has changed,” Li said. As portrayed by the SMM staff member, the news service gained a pricing toehold in China from those seeking a benchmark price for battery grade nickel products such as nickel sulfate.

More recently, after extreme price volatility in March that caused the LME to temporarily suspend trading of the metal, Li said traders have been turning to SMM for pricing insight into materials such as mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP, an intermediate nickel material) and nickel pig iron (NPI).

Regarding the supply and demand of nickel in China, Li pointed to an ongoing supply glut of NPI and other materials being produced in Indonesia and exported to China. The demand for pure nickel has been “squeezed” by the availability of these materials and by increased recycling activity within China, Li indicated.

Li and SMM predict that primary nickel “will be significantly oversupplied” in the third quarter and perhaps the rest of the year in China.

The demand for nickel briquettes, NPI and stainless steel scrap in China also faces limitations currently because of energy-related cutbacks in metals production. Although some stainless steel producing regions are not greatly affected by the cutbacks, said Li, others (such as the drought-stricken Sichuan Province with its hydropower woes) are seeing mandatory output cutbacks.

Figures presented by Li showed stainless steel consumption of nickel units in China having temporarily peaked back in March. Demand for nickel from electroplating operations in China likewise has drifted downward compared with 2021.

The demand for nickel sulfate in the battery and new energy sectors remains on a largely upward trajectory in the nation, however, even in the second and third quarters of 2022 when much of the rest of the Chinese economy has encountered turbulence.

Considering all factors, Li predicted that in the remainder of the third quarter, “The nickel price may continue to decline,” and pointed to the ongoing inflow of imported materials from Indonesia as a culprit.